Indications from Brussels were that the meeting of EU ambassadors would not result in a decision on numbers, but would pave the way for talks on Friday involving EU foreign ministers and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The 10-day-old truce has already been tested by a number of skirmishes and an Israeli commando raid deep inside Lebanon.

In the latest incidents:

An Israeli soldier was killed and three others wounded on Tuesday evening by a landmine laid by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, the army said

Israeli soldiers entered the Lebanese border village of Rub Thalatheen and seized two residents, the official Lebanese news agency said

There was artillery fire near the Shebaa farms area at the convergence of Lebanon, Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; Israel said it fired only onto its own territory near the border, as a deterrent, but Lebanese officials said Israeli troops had fired into a Lebanese village

Since the truce came into effect, Israel has maintained restrictions on air and sea access to Lebanon, bringing a plea from Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora for US intervention.

"The United States can support us in putting real pressure on Israel to lift the siege," he told reporters on Wednesday.